Hummus

This was my third time making hummus. The first time I used canned chick peas/garbanzo beans. The second time I used freshly cooked chick peas and made two different kinds: regular and jalapeño. This time I cooked the beans yesterday and used tahini along with the other ingredients.

I only had half a lemon so I had to use ReaLime juice to get the tang I wanted. I didn't measure any of the ingredients, but I'd guess about 1 1/2 cups beans, 1 Tablespoon of tahini, 1 Tablespoon of lemon/lime juice plus some lemon zest, 2 large garlic cloves and 1/4 teaspoon salt. I stopped my food processor a few times and taste-tested the spread until it was the right flavor and consistency.

I drizzled some olive oil and a little lemon zest over the hummus before serving with some lightly toasted whole wheat pitas.

Zucchini Bread (and Muffins)

New recipe! I got this recipe from a relative who got it from a friend who got it from a relative(?) or maybe a friend. The recipe doesn't call for eggs, but I don't mind. Very moist and delicious. I should probably just delete this earlier post since I won't be making those again.

If you look closely at the first muffin, you can see some nice bits of green from the skin of the courgette. I love this time of year when I can get young, tender, fresh and cheap summer squashes.

No, I didn't get a new kitchen. The picture was taken on my mom's new granite counter top. Isn't it pretty? The quick bread/muffins were baked in her new oven too.

What I'm Watching

I don't understand why I keep reading about how there is nothing to watch on television. I'm still watching/TiVo'ing plenty. And I don't see it ending soon since new shows are starting everyday.

Earlier in the "summer" (after the television season supposedly ended) I watched episodes of canceled shows that the networks were burning off like Pushing Daisies and Valentine. There are a few shows that I'm watching in reruns like House and Smallville that I stopped watching during the regular season or that I didn't record because they conflicted with other shows.

As for new summer programming, I have a long list. Some I'm only letting myself watch in real time because I'm embarrassed to TiVo them, and they're on all the time: Dance Your Ass Off, Tori and Dean, Daisy of Love, Charm School with Ricki Lake. Others I have season passes for: Eureka, Iron Chef America, Burn Notice, Chowder and Merlin. Torchwood's Children of Earth episodes are being saved on my mom's TiVo since I don't get BBC America.

MTV is showing seasons seven and eight of Degrassi: The Next Generation and Comedy Central is rerunning episodes of Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist. New episodes of Monk and Psych start in August.

That's a lot of TV.

Save Ohio Libraries!

I've recently become reacquainted with my local libraries. I go there about once a week to use their resources. Of course, since I'm now using them regularly, Ohio's Governor Ted Strickland wants to cut their funding!

The Save Ohio Libraries and the Ohio Library Council websites have details about this issue, and you may have seen protesters on the news. (I actually saw the linked video on News Channel 5 before I saw it on NewsNet5. That almost never happens!)

I emailed my state representative and state senator in Columbus to let them know my views. If you want to contact your elected officials, but don't know who they are, the Save Ohio Libraries website has links to help you find their names. Also, if you don't know what to say, there are sample letters to copy.

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

I've been wanting to make this recipe since I found it back in February. As you can see, it was more a ribbon of fudge than a tunnel. I have several theories as to why:

1. I used just shy of 2 cups of walnuts since that was all I had. It was more than 1 3/4 cups but less than 2 cups. I also might have not chopped them small enough.

2. Butter doesn't really work, and I should have used margarine (yuck).

3. My Bundt pan sucks, which won't matter in the future because I threw it away since I scratched it by being too aggressive in taking it out of the pan.

The taste was somewhere between cake and brownies, in other words, delicious. The fudgy part was just that, fudgy.

This was a Flag Day birthday cake. I think the birthday guy liked it.

Almond Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Double leftovers. I made some cupcakes to use up the egg yolks that I had from making a meringue-based frosting for different cupcakes and to use up the leftover frosting itself.

I substituted almond extract for vanilla for something different. I cut down the recipe since I had 5 egg yolks, but it still made 12 cupcakes and 2 heart-shaped ramekins.

Pancakes

Gridlin'

Delicious stack of pancakes

I was in the mood for pancakes this morning. Well, I was actually in the mood for pancakes from the Inn on Coventry, but I wanted to stay home. I used the KitchenAid recipe with a few substitutions. 1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of self-rising flour that I'm trying to use up, 1 teaspoon of baking powder because of the flour substitution and no salt because of the flour substitution. I used canola oil because melted shortening sounded gross. It really only took about 45 seconds of actual mixing to make the batter.

I've always been good at the cooking of pancakes and the first was just as tasty as the last. I guess I don't need Aunt Jemima Complete. Maybe I'll make waffles next time with the mystery waffle iron in my kitchen.